General

An analyst has come to the conclusion that T-Mobile’s Garminfone has not been doing well at all due to its low sales. This could be because the people don’t want to have to do anything with a device which is a more or less limited GPS-oriented handset, even though the device runs Android.

The Garminfone is average, with a capacitive 3.5-inch touch screen, a camera of 3 megapixels, 3G, Wi-Fi and a microSD slot. Though these features are not enough to win over customers, and it does not help at all, when you come to know that the Garminfone has no flash with its camera. The only thing Garmin was banking heavily on, was its turn-by-turn navigation and maps, which could have made the appeal to people to ditch their personal navigation devices.

Morgan Keegan analyst Yair Reiner, surveyed close to 50 stores of T-Mobile, and the figures he came across were not in the least satisfactory. It is true that there have been no official announcements regarding Garmin sales, but Reiner’s conclusions can be deemed like a brick. Many sales associates spoke highly of it and claimed that it had the best navigation functionality of any cell phone even before it was released. But days after the release, it has not generated interest from the stores, which hampered sales and others had not sold any despite displays being setup and several sold a few. The sales have been extremely low.

There are many causes attributed to the woefully low sales of the Garminfone; as the Android 2.2, with a free turn-by-turn navigation with the Google Navigation systems, has a major role to play in this. The best way for Garmin to perk up sales is to come up with some killer hardware designs. There are many devices which provide GPS services, the same as the Garmin, and the Garmin needs to come up with something that will give it an edge over the others.

Cope of the Michigan state are now all set to be putting into action the state's ban on text messaging while driving from 1st July onwards since it is becoming a big threat to live on the streets. This action has already been undertaken by 14 other states in the United States of America, as well as in various countries over the world. In Canada for instance, the whole phenomenon of sending text messages from your unlocked cellphone while behind the wheel is being eliminated in gradual stages by the implementation of stringent fines and reprimands.

However as straightforward the law may seem, it will be really difficult to implement properly. The moot point is that how is one supposed to understand whether you're text messaging or just looking at the number of missed calls you got in the last half an hour? Michigan Police Executive Director Tom Hendrickson said that it would be difficult for law enforcers to understand whether a person is text messaging while driving and he does have a valid point.

Matt Bolger, 1st Lt. of the State Police, who trains cops on new laws, says that people who are using their cell-phone for calling have nothing to fret about. There would be a fine of around $ 100 for the first time and then a fine of $200 the next time you are caught.

By enforcing this law Michigan moved into the bandwagon, which already includes other US states such as California, New Jersey and also Washington D.C.

One good thing about the law is its transparency. Chances are that wherever you might be caught, you would have to pay a fine. So Michigan has decided to go ahead and ban text messaging while driving from unlocked phone. Indeed, one can make a call instead (as there's no ban on talking on a Bluetooth device)!

When the new broadcasters broke off into being their usual dramatic selves and informed us with the breaking news that the T mobile GarminPhone hasn’t been doing well in the market, no one was shocked. It was as if it was expected to flunk, plummet in the market. It’s become transparent that no one wants a relatively limited GPS centric handset, even if it might be running on the Android technology.

On your TV screens, in advertisements or on the paper the GarminPhone will sweep you off your feet with its sleek snazzy looks. But the features that they offer are quite modest to say the least. The model sports a 3.5-inch capacitive touch screen, 3-megapixel camera with no flash, 3G, Wi-Fi and a microSD slot. These features are all there and much better in the other smartphones such as the Motorola Milestone so this GarminPhone doesn’t really offer anything new or groundbreaking.

But it does provide with a sleek new feature, which enables its users to give away their own navigational device and rely on the GarminPhone navigational facilities. Before its release there was a lot of talk about the classy navigational features and a lot of din was made by the retail shopkeepers, but since its launch not a very many shops have shown a lot of interest in marketing the product realizing that navigational technology installment inside a smartphone didn’t make it a cut above the rest.

The main reasons why the GarminPhone couldn’t bite into the market were because people were already using the Android 2.0 ( Google Nexus One Unlocked ) technology, which allowed for Google navigation which is a free turn by turn navigational facility. Though the disadvantage of Google is that it doesn’t work without cell connectivity but most users are comfortable with it and it would take a lot more work from the GarminPhone makers to get themselves some share of customers.

This is probably the worst thing that could have happened to Verizon. It had planned a business strategy to ensure more profit, but it backfired very badly. Verizon had decided that it would increase its ETF (Early Termination Fees) for its handsets, and make it $350. This motion was taken last year. But Verizon forgot that no one likes ETFs. Verizon customers were positively fuming at this ploy, and this plan didn’t impress any of Verizon’s fans at all. So, the state of California decided to uphold an appeal against Verizon. The state of California decided that this fee was unfair to customers, and decided to appeal in favor of the users. As a result, Verizon will now have to pay $21 million as settlement fee. It will have to award refunds to 175,000 customers.

Both Verizon and AT&T have very high fees. So, signing a contract and committing to an ETF is a very tricky thing for them. They charge $350 and $325 respectively. They are so money-minded, that it would seem that even after you die, Verizon would want to collect its termination fees. There is one thing these carriers can do to cope with these changes. They can charge a lower fee each month, and start a contract. Therefore, if the user decides to leave, then the user’s cost will be prorated.

Although this whole thing may seem to be a win for customers, there is nothing to be very happy about. It does not look like things are going to be improving, any time soon in the near future. The cellphone carriers claim that there is only one way they can offer such heavy subsidies. They can only do this by ensuring that the ETFs are in place. This is a precaution they must take, if, just in case a customer tries to run with a smartphone, 2-3 months into the contract.

Are you one of those crazy soccer fans who just can't have enough of football? Here's something for you to gorge yourself on: the Paragon Software Group, which is a premier software solution provider for mobile phones and desktop PCs, along with the German reference book publisher Langenscheidt have launched a version of the UEFA football dictionary for mobile phone users. The application has been launched specifically for Unlocked Apple's iPhone 4, iPad and iPod Touch and provides definitions as well as translations in the three different official UEFA languages- German, English and French.

This unique trilingual dictionary contains as many as 5,700 different words which include everything related to the game. Additionally some topics of special interest such as stadium details and security, equipment, medical facilities, media issues, management and administration have been included in this unique one of a kind software.

Each term's definition is followed by an explanatory note, replete with several examples , synonyms and cross-references wherever applicable. This reliable and authoritative lexicon helps sustain multilingual communication on the field as well as on the sidelines.

This application is priced at 15.99 USD (12.99 EUR) or at a special promotional price of 11.99 USD (9.99 EUR) valid from June to July 12, to be acquired via download from the App Store or at the Langenscheidt's Web site.

Salient features include:

Over 5,700 specialist terms

No Net connection necessary

History stores the last 100 articles.

Clear the search history.

List of similar words in case of misspelt words.

Special wildcard card search

Flash Card Quiz enables you to add new words to flash cards and test your knowledge as many times as you wish.

Landscape mode support.

Hyperlinks between articles and directions

It is compatible with the iPad, iPhone 3GS unlocked gadget and the iPod touch, running OS 3.0-4.0.

From June onwards, AT&T has hiked up its early termination fees (ETFs) to $325 in what might well be a move to ensure that iPhone users are kept locked in.

The ETF is the fee that a user is to pay when he/she terminates the service contract. The early termination fees are being raised by the company from $175 to $325, which commenced from the starting of June. Incidentally, this roughly coincided with the expected release date of Apple's unlocked iPhone 4G/HD. This increased amount will be applicable to fresh contracts only and on the other hand ETF on feature handsets will drop down to $150. Renewal of a contract for a new iPhone will however get you into the province of this new ETF.

Naturally this new policy change is rather a hassle but the underlying logic behind AT&T's decision is not that difficult to fathom. Apple's unlocked iPhone 4G/HD will in all probability be having an entry level price of $199 although AT&T has to shell out around $500 to $600 for a single set. Counting that in the reckoning, along with the number of people who are going to purchase the item, it totals up to quite a tidy sum in subsidies. They should certainly be able to get that money back over time due to the mobile data services of the users. Still, this does give enough of a prod for a rethink of strategies. It's an even greater problem for AT&T as many owners of iPhones 3GS unlocked handset compulsively upgrade to the latest version on an annual basis, expecting the introductory pricing.

This move is close on the heels of Verizon's hiking up of its ETF to $350 on "advanced devices" citing similar causes. The increased ETF may be another impediment for current AT&T customers to change, especially after rumours that Apple might go with Big Red, thus endangering AT&T's exclusivity with the iPhone.

President Barrack Hussein Obama has introduced many things since his rise to office, and they have been enforced to a great extent also. His most recent enforcement is to boost mobile services for the good of the people.

President Obama, along with his colleagues in the White House have issued a memorandum, which asks the executive departments and agencies to boost mobile services, so much so that 500 MHz of spectrum will be made available within the next ten years. The spectrum made available will be coming from commercial, as well as federal bands. The memorandum has been issued to the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Commerce is to work together with the Federal Communications Commission to make Obama’s drive possible.

According to the President, the era in global wireless technology can only advance if there are more spectrums available. There will be multiple new developments in the fields of wireless devices, networks, new applications, which will help in the progress of economy. But to experiment with these devices and to successfully use them, more spectrums are needed. Since there is a shortage of spectrum, the available quantity should be used more efficiently.

There has been the issue of scarcity of licensed spectrum available. No new operators are being able to provide wireless broadband services due to shortage of licensed spectrum. And if unlicensed spectrum is used, then there could be no guarantee of either connectivity or that of quality. As more and more people are using unlocked smartphones and other wireless devices to access the web on the go, it could pose a serious problem for providers. The President’s drive will be a beacon of hope for consumers and providers alike.

The Obama-led government sees the phone Internet as a major help in bridging the digital divide. The digital divide is in rural areas mostly, and Obama wants to overcome these shortcomings and encourage jobs and innovation.

Electronics retail giant Best Buy wants to get into the cell-phone broadband service. It plans to launch Best Buy Connect brand that will allow store-branded mobile services along with the products it sells. This was posted in the Wall Street Journal, and according to reports, Sprint will be making this foray of Best Buy possible.

The company has already started circulating advertisements. According to the advertisement, cell phone broadband services will start at $29.99, for 250MB of data service, without a contract. The high-end plans include data services of up to 5GB, at a monthly rate of $59.99. Service contracts with lower rates will also be made available. There will a $35 activation fee, but this can be waived, if the user signs for a two-year contract. Another offering by Best Buy is that customers will be given RewardZone points, which they can build up, and use for discounts and other promotional offers at Best Buy.

Reports state that this will not be a full-fledged service, and will be limited to a small segment of devices sold by Best Buy. Laptops equipped with the Qualcomm Gobi chipset will be able to make use of this service. The Gobi chipset laptops can roam on either CDMA or HSPA networks. The service will not provide 4G broadband services, but only 3G.

This move by Best Buy is a strong, logical extension into its endeavors in cellphone broadband services and products. If Best Buy can both sell a 3G laptop and also provide the broadband service, its profit margin will be huge and unprecedented.

Best Buy is looking forward to launching this service as soon as possible. It will be a huge step forward by Best Buy in extending its annual revenue income. As for us, we can only wait and see if this venture is worth it or not.

If accessing social networking web pages is what you are primarily looking for in your phone then there is good news for you. Verizon wireless has decided to drop the prices of the Microsoft Kin cell phones which allow easy access to social networking portals.

Prices of the Microsoft Kins phones will change as follows

· The Kin One will now cost $29 in comparison to its earlier $50 pricing

· The Kin Two price will be cut down to half it original to around $50

However we honestly feel that this will not go a long way in really helping the sales of these handsets to that extent. For the customer, it is important to note that all these handsets do come with the usual two year contract and additional data charges. When you buy these phones, you will be committed to a two year data plan of $30 per month which is comparable to the

These phones are pretty good in the respect that they allow you to upload your pictures and even videos onto your profiles. However the drawbacks sadly for these nifty phones are numerous, such as;

· You cannot download any applications at all hence no games, and

· You cannot access special Twitter and other such special clients.

On the brighter side, there are some updates slated for release from Microsoft which will enable YouTube access and social networking capabilities however we really think that this is not enough. In fact, Microsoft’s soon to be released smart phone platform the Windows Phone 7 which is coming out in a few months time. This sadly will be a killer for many of the phones like the kin. However on the bright side, the positive aspects of the Kin will find its way into the Windows Phone 7.

It has now been revealed that mobile agency Broadplay plans on introducing a new service whereby customers would be able to receive SMS updates of any breaking news events from the G20 meet. By partnering together with The Globe and Mail, Broadplay has been able to convince major mobile carriers in United States to offer text message updates for the G20 summit. Although it is completely free for users to sign up, when receiving a text message, standard text charges will apply. It is possible to sign up either directly from the website or by simply smsing text G20 to 123411.

The G20 summit is slated to be held on the 26th and 27th of June and will feature the financial head of various countries such as US, England, France, India, China among. As these world leaders gather together in NY, any breaking news events from the event will now be broadcasted directly to your mobile phone via text messages. Any news that can prove to be beneficial for maternal health and traffic jams to the global financial crisis; you can get all the advice you need.

This service is expected to start from June 21-28 where users will have the ability of getting all updates via text messages. According to a statement on the Broadplay website, “We have now decided to go ahead and start a free service that users can to start up to date with all the latest happenings from the G20 summit to be held in Toronto this week. Subscribers can expect to get around 30 different text messages during the entire week. Apart from the option of subscribing for the services, users also have the option of unsubscribing after which they would no longer receive any text messages in there unlocked cell phones. Through this service we hope to inform about various political changes that might affect their lives.”